Akbar Zahid

Akbar Zahid
Full Name: Syed Akbar Zahid
Father's Name: Syed Ahmed
Profession: Journalism
Date of Birth: 9 October 1952
Qualification:
Bachelor of Commerce from Islamiah College, Vaniyambadi, in the year 1973, under University of Madras. After that One year certificate course in Industrial and Business Administration from Datamatics Institute of Management, Chennai in the year 1974.
Beginning of Life as an Author
While in his schools, his first short story Takhleeque was published in a Bangalore Urdu Daily Salar. At the same time he started a hand written Urdu Language Digest by Name: AMAR Urdu Digest. It was a monthly hand written magazine with colourful hand paintings in it illustrating the topics. He brought out nearly 16 such hand written magazines. Two of his school friends, Mohammed Iqbal Shareiff and Syed Ahmed Kabeer, helped him in bringing out this hand written journal. Mohammed Iqbal Shareiff later joined Darul Uloom Deoband and became a Moulvi and Syed Ahmed Kabeer joined medicine and became a Doctor. While in college, Akbar Zahid got his digest registered under the Registrar of News Papers and has to changed the name of his monthly magazine from AMAR to HINA, urdu digest. Only two issues of the print version were published.
From his school days onwards he was interested in poetry and short story writing. He gave much of his times to short story writing. While he was in his 8th standard he wrote his first detective novel inspired by the famous detective writer Ibn Safi. The name of this detective book was Barf Ki Lashein.
There was a Literary Association by name Bazm-e-Nou in Vaniyambadi, under the presidentship of Dr.Abdullah Zouqhi. Bazm-e-Nou used to conduct monthyly poetic meet known as MUSHAIRA. Local Poets as well as poets from nearby towns such as Ambur, Pernambet, Omerabad and Tirupattur use to attend this Mushaira. Akbar Zahid also use to took part in these Musaharias as a young poet.
Life in Madras
After graduating he went to Madras (now Chennai) to study management. During this period, he joined a Urdu Daily Newspaper MUSALMAN, as a translator from English to Urdu. The news from Daily Hindu were translated in to Urdu and then printed and brought out in the evening as an Evening News Paper. He joined at a monthly salary of Rs.100.00. At that time the publisher of the Musalman News Paper was Afzal Basha and the Editor of the News Paper was Farooqui Sahib who was a freedom fighter. A group of Katibs (Calligraphers) use to write down the news given by me and farooqui sahib on a waxed paper which was reproduced on a Litho Stone for printing. It was the time when there were no computers.
Job in Bombay
After completing his management studies, Akbar Zahid went to Bombay for a job in a construction company namely Mistry & Company. He was put up in the Vododara Branch of Mistry & Company. The Salary given was Rs.300/- per month. He worked there for one year and then came back to Vaniyambadi on leave. There his father got him a job at Anaikar Abudl Shukoor & Company, a tannery in Vaniyambadi as an officer. He worked there for 10 months. During these days he use to get calls from his Vaododara employers to join the duty. One day he received a telegram asking him to join the duty immediately and that he will be paid a salary of Rs.800/- per month. He discussed it with his father and resigned the job and went back to Vadodara to join Mistry & Company again. He worked there for one full year. During this period he was in charge of the accounts of all the branches. The branches were in Ahmedabad, Bharuch,and Vallabh Vidya Nagar. He use to travel all these places. After one year he came back to Vaniyambadi and started an Advertising and Printing Agency. Meanwhile his love for Urdu Literature never vanished. He was writing short stories and poems and ghazals in his spare time.
Job in Ambur
It was during this period that Ambur got his first shoe factory UNISCO. Akbar Zahid got a job in this shoe factory. He got a beautiful atmosphere here and his story writing talents increased here. He wrote a lot of short stories and poems here.
He got married while he was in Unisco to Shanaz, his school time friend Dr. Syed Ahmed Kabeer's sister. But, after marriage his father agains got him a job in Bombay and asked him to join that Job. So within fifteen days of his marriage, he left for Bombay to join his duty as showroom manager for Adenwala & Company, a Marble and Granite factory. He worked there for one year and then returned to Vaniyambadi. After returning he again joined UNISCO as Store Keeper. He worked here for one more year. But, as the salary was very low he resigned and joined his father's business who owned a sweet stall.
Akbar Zahid after joining his father's business improved it a lot. He changed the tradition of packing and instead of papers and leaves he introduced box packing system. He introduced a variety of new sweet items and gave a name to this sweet business as AHMED SWEETS.
Life as an Artist
Akbar Zahid is an artist by birth. During his school and college days he use to took part in drawing and painting competitions and always got first prize. But he never took painting as his profession. He still has some beautiful paintings to his credit enhancing the décor of his drawing room.
Marriage
He got married to Mr. Syed Abdul Aleem's only daughter and his friend Dr. Kabeer's sister Shahnaz Begum. After eight years his wife gave birth to a baby girl. The child was given the name of Arshiya Nudrath.
Business
He started sweets business under the Name of Mittai Ghar. The business soon flourished. Within a few months he added a fast food joint to this sweet stall. He gave the name of this joint as Chit Chat Corner. Chit Chat Corner was the first fast food joint of the town. Nearly 150 dishes were on the menu. Chinese, Indian and Continental dishes were served here. AT that time there was not a single decent hotel in the town. People from far away places use to come and dine here with advance booking. Very soon Chit Chat Corner became the favourite joint for the people of vaniyambadi. But after two years the business was forced to close by a politician who has started a fast food joint in the town. So after closing the shop, he went to Chennai to undergo computer software training.
He studied computer software and hardware from Institute of Computers and Electronics and completed the course in one year. After that he started a computer institute at Vaniyambadi by name Royal Academy of Computer Training and started giving training to younger generation of Vaniyambadi. He was first to introduced Internet, Web Designing and Animation and Graphics in Vaniyambadi.
Starting of Ahmed Sweets
During this period that one day his younger brother Syed Jamal approached him one day and told him that there is a shop in Bus Stand which is under construction and the person (Khaja Hotel Wala) wants to sell a portion of it for he needs money. Jamal suggested him to purchase the shop so that both can start a sweet stall there. The idea was good. So Akbar Zahid sold the Jewells of his wife, and gave the money to Jamal to Purchase the shop. The shop was purchased and the building was registered in both the name of Akbar Zahid and Syed Jamal. Then they both started the sweet business and a new show room of Ahmed Sweets was started of which both Akbar Zahid and Jamal were partners. This showroom was started with a massive loan from money lenders and the business was not so good. So there was difficulty in repaying the loan and interest amount. Akbar Zahid worked here for three years. He put all his efforts to build the business. He used his UNISCO contacts to improve the business. But, it was very difficult to run two families (his and jamal's)with the income of this shop. The situation was such that only one family will get survived. So, he took a decision and asked Jamal to take care of the shop for a few years singly. He will look for a job and work for five years. He told Jamal that he will come back after five years and again join the business. The partnership will be there. He asked Jamal to post the accounts daily to his address. Jamal agreed to this. Before leaving Akbar Zahid gave a sum of Rupees One Lakh Fifity thousand to Jamal for the business.
Life in Bangalore
He went to Bangalore to work for Sim Sim a gift shop. He has got the assignment of computerizing the sales and inventory. After completing his assignment he got a job in an Urdu Daily SIASAT as a reporter. But soon, he was given the post of Chief Executive Editor after the resident editor Mr. Zahanath Ali Baig was transferred to Hyderabad. He worked in SIASAT for six years.
Life as a Journalist
While he was in Siasat, he thought of starting a Hotel in Bangalore. He started the business but, unfortunately, this business also collapsed due to several reasons.
He left the job of Siasat and joined Stone Park, which was a marble, granite and stone supplying firm. He joined the firm as Manager and worked there for one year.
On 18 January 2004, his father died. He has to resign the job from Siasat. He came back to Vaniyambadi.
He started reporting for Rashtriya Sahara News Paper an Urdu National Daily from January 2010. He was appointed as Tamilnadu Correspondent and started reporting for it daily from Vainiyambadi itself. He use to send all the news and photos through email. Soon, he became the favourite reporters of Rashtriya Sahara and the circulation in Tamilnadu increased. He started writing for Aalmi Sahara a weekly magazine of Sahara Group.
A few students of Islamia College and other colleges has done M.Phil and P.hd. on his stories and writings.
He got best journalist award from KARATA an Urdu Teachers Union in Karnatak. He presented so many papers on different topics in various colleges and Universities. He attended an International Seminar on the Concept of Woman in Urdu Literature held in Madras University on March 2011 and presented his paper.
His collection of Short Stories in Urdu LanguageEK NEZA UNCHA AASMAANwas published in April 1997. There were totally 21 short stories in this book. Later two of his short stories from this book were included in the Tamilnadu State School and College Syllabus for 10th Standard Students and Degree College Students.
Before going to Bangalore, he was also editing and publishing an English Fortnightly by name Deccan Review from Vanyambadi along with his friends Professor V. Rahmathullah and Mr. Mastan Waseem.
At present he is in Vaniyambadi and is working for Roznama Rashtriya Sahara, Bangalore Edition as its Tamilnadu Correspondent.

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